Understanding the Role of mHealth and Other Media Interventions for Behavior Change to Enhance Child Survival and Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

posted Oct 13, 2014, 10:08 AM by Suzanne Cole

Blue Butterfly Executive Director Dr. Charlotte F. Cole--along with her co-authors--identify the evidence on interventions and strategies that support sustainable shifts in behaviors in populations in lower- and middle-income countries to achieve child survival and development. The research is published in a fall 2014 supplement to the Journal of Health Communications.

The article describes the research of the science, technology, and innovation (STI) evidence review team (ERT), of which Dr. Cole was a member. The ERT reviewed the evidence and determined with STI behavioral interventions result in population-level behavior change that could contribute to child survival and healthy development. The team also made informed recommendations to low- and middle-income countries, donors, and development practitioners on practice, program, and research. The policy and topic recommendations are summarized by The Communication Initiative.

Dr. Cole participated in the review team at the Evidence Summit on Enhancing Child Survival and Development in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries by Achieving Population-Level Behavior Change, which was held in Washington, DC, June 3-4, 2013. It was hosted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the National Institute of Mental Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Communication Initiative, and the American Psychological Association.